Working Out But Gaining Weight? Here’s Why

You’ve finally made it past the point of wanting to get healthy and lose weight. You’ve not only made plans for eating better and working out, but you actually put those plans into action. It’s been a month now, and not only have you not lost any weight, but you’ve actually gained some! Why?

Working Out But Not Losing Weight

Gaining weight at the beginning of a new exercise program is actually quite common. It’s a natural part of your body’s adaptation process.

If you haven’t exercised regularly in months, you can expect to add a few pounds at the beginning. But that’s OK. This weight gain is good weight gain, and it will do nothing to keep you from reaching your goals as long as you understand what is actually going on.

Increased Energy Reserve Capacity

Let’s assume that your calorie intake isn’t 500-1000 calories above maintenance levels on a daily basis. This is a safe assumption to make, as most weight losers don’t come anywhere close to eating maintenance calories.

In fact, they tend to under eat. So if your calories are below maintenance levels, how could you possibly be gaining weight – especially if you’ve been exercising too?

Your body stores energy in two main forms – fat and glycogen. Fat storage is fairly linear – meaning it fluctuates slowly based on your current lifestyle.

However, glycogen storage can swing wildly on a day to day basis depending on the type of exercise you do, the amount you do, the composition of your diet, and how long it’s been since you’ve done any exercise.

Glycogen Storage

Glycogen = Glucose + Water

Your body takes the glucose it gets from the carbohydrates you eat, then combines it with water and stores it in your muscles.

In fact, every gram of glucose is stored with about 3 grams of water[1]. Taking that one step further, the average person can store about 15 g/kg of body weight of glycogen[2]. So, let’s do a little math:

That’s right, 3 pounds of glycogen is what this person stores on average. If he were going from a sedentary lifestyle to a very active one, the swing in water weight could be several pounds.

Going From a Sedentary to an Active Lifestyle Results in Initial Weight Gain

This is the biggest reason people see stagnant weight loss or even weight gain at the beginning of a weight loss program. They go from a sedentary lifestyle to one that is much more active. This transition causes many changes in your body.

Going from doing hardly any exercise to working out several times per week increases your muscle’s energy storage capacity. Your body needs more fuel, and it adapts by storing more of the carbohydrates you eat as glycogen in your muscle.

So when you first start a weight loss program you very well could be losing fat, but that fat loss is masked by a corresponding gain in water weight. You very easily could have lost one pound of fat the first week but gained one or more pounds of muscle glycogen.

Then, you step on the scale, see no change in weight (or possibly a gain), and think all your hard work was for nothing.

Sound familiar?

Take a look below at the progress sheet of a client of mine. She used to be very active but had been sedentary for the last 8 months. She was ready to get back into the gym and start losing weight.

But what happened at the beginning is what many people experience – weight gain even though you’re doing everything right.

Over the first 3 weeks she actually gained weight. And as you know, it can be very disheartening to be doing all that work only to see the scale increase.

But she stuck with it, and without any drastic change in calories, proceeded to lose about 7lbs and 6 inches over 12 weeks. However, her true fat loss was much higher, as her strength increased and she put on muscle during that time.

Jessica chose to continue on her own after 12 weeks, but I checked in with her a couple of months later and she was down into the 160s without having to cut any more calories. A little patience and trust in the process at the beginning really set her up for long-term weight loss.

I asked her if she was OK with me sharing her program with you and she was happy to do it if it would help others. So here you go – her entire 12 week program, which includes her daily meal plan, exercise program, and even my personal notes. Just click here to download it.

Weight and Fat Are Not the Same

You might think that is an obvious statement, but if it were, there wouldn’t be so many people wondering why they’re working out but gaining weight. This weight is good weight. It is fuel within the muscles for high-intensity exercise. It is going to make your muscles look full and perform their best.

Weight is comprised of muscle, water, tendons, bones, ligaments, organs, fat, and any other mass that’s part of your body. Fat is plain and simple – fat.

This is the reason why your weight fluctuates so much on a day-to-day basis. Being that your body is made up of 60% or more water, the daily number you see on the scale is typically a measure of water fluctuation.

Fat loss is much more linear and stable in comparison. Keep this in mind when you step on the scale. The number can be deceiving.

Be Prepared For Some Weight Gain

Assuming you have your calorie intake right, it can sometimes take 2-4 weeks before the scale starts ticking downwards, especially if you haven’t been working out consistently. Body composition changes are occurring, they just aren’t being reflected on the scale. Not to mention, you are definitely healthier than when you started.

This article is very informative and gives me a far better idea of what is going on. From day to day my weight can fluctuate about 6lbs which is huge. I have been on a diet and exercise program for about a month and can say that I have lost a full 5 lbs because i no longer fluctuate that high anymore. This fluctuation makes it hard to gage progress when one day you have lost 10lbs and the next it is only 5lbs. The only solace I have is that the tape measure seems pretty consistent and I know I have shaved 2.5 inches off my waist.

If the tape measure is showing progress, you are definitely moving in the right direction. The weight fluctuations can be drastic, especially at the beginning. The more consistent you are with your eating and exercise, the more consistent your water fluctuations will be.

What if I’ve been doing it for a month put 5 pound on and also on top of that the tape measure is going up?? I eat healthy and mix cardio and weight exercise 3 times a week….. no one can explain why I’m getting bigger and bigger

This has really helped me today. I was doing classes 3 x per week until last August, then stopped and started running but stopped in October. I’ve just started again, running 3x per week with power walks in between. And I’ve gained 2lb on the scale! Lesson learned, I’ll rely on measurement and the mirror for a while!!! Thanks x

That’s where I’m ALWAYS confused! I use my fitness pal and it my calorie intake is 1300 per day and I’m 212lbs, I’ve been working out daily .. I think I’m suppose to be eating more but I’m not sure so I stick close to the intake mfp suggests ..

1300 calories isn’t much for your weight. I’d recommend you start off closer to 1800/day. It’s always better to start high and come down as necessary. Otherwise you will plateau with no room left to further cut calories.

I weighed 110 4 months ago we moved to a new state and I gaind 10lbs. I eat WAYYYY less than 2000 calories drink water starred working out now my hands feel so swollen like alot of water weight. ..every day seriously 2 lb gain

Not sure I can explain your gain from the info you’ve provided me. Double check nothing has changed in your life recently such as medications, stress, sleep, hormones, etc. I would also recommend you count calories just to be sure you aren’t eating over your maintenance cals.

I needed this today. Thanks, Coach. I’m in my third week of a clean diet and back into a regimented work out plan…and the scale has gone up a few pounds and not budged since. Thank you for the info and reassurance.

Very typical. Be patient a little longer. You can always make adjustments to your intake if things aren’t changing after a month. In the meantime, you can’t go wrong eating whole foods and being active. 🙂

That comment alone “you can’t go wrong eating whole foods and being active” is what I keep telling myself I have been eating really good and exercising and got on the scale to see an xtra 10 pounds 😳 I weigh 187 was 177 two years ago I was a size 4-5 and I’m now a 9-10 and I really appreciate all the links and the info on your page here ! And the fact u are not trying to keep a secret until I pay 😘 Thank u and I am hoping that the facts I’ve read are the case in my situation

I’m really frustrated. I have been stuck at the same point for over a year. I get to 157 (I am 5’6) and I will not go past it. I try to keep my calories on workout days to 1400-1600 and still it won’t budge, nor have the meansurements budged. I do sprint triathlons so my workouts consist of about an 60-90 minutes of swimming, biking or running 6 days a week and have started to put in some cross training (sit ups, ,push ups, squats, etc..). I havre tried to make sure I am drinking plain water 64-80 oz a day, still not helping. I have joined a new team so my workout intensity has increased dramaticallyl in the last month, hoped that would help, nope.

I just read your article on doing the 12 x my body weight. I think I may try this out and see if it helps to bump up my calories. I do suspect that I may not be eating enough. My BMR has always been right around 1490 (did the body gem a few years ago and the arm band both came out similar.) I get the thryoid checked every few years and it’s always in line. I had lost 40 lbs 4 years ago when I started tris and ate around 1500 calories and lost the weight. I guess that’s why I expect it to work the same now that I am 40. Unfortunately I got sick for 3 months 2 years ago and gained 15 back, but I cannot get it off.

I’d start bumping up your calories 100-200 on average for 2 weeks at a time and remeasuring to see what’s going on. Pay attention to body fat though, as more carbs could temporarily bump up glycogen storage (as explained in the article).

Great article! I have this conversation with so many of my clients. But, I now for them (and for my during my transformation) it was a mindshift to stop thinking like a dieter and think like and athlete!

This is exactly what’s been happening to me! I start eating clean, stop snacking at night and start working out and my weight goes up which causes me to get discouraged and return to my bad habits. I always thought if I’m getting fatter why bother? But now that I’ve read this article I feel better and I will put my scale away and just keep working hard.

I’m telling you Suzanne, your frustrations are more common than you might think. That first month of a new lifestyle is practically a transitional phase. The real magic happens in the months ahead. Hang in there!

I love the idea of taking my body fat. It is frustrating to see the scale not budge or go up. Question: What is your opinion on handheld body fat analyzers. I have one that is battery run by Omron. My body fat measurements from my gym do not match the numbers on my hand held one.

I tend to not trust the accuracy of those devices, although I am testing out a body fat scale right now. More than anything, it should tell you an accurate relative change, even if the actual body fat percentage is off. With those devices you need to be consistent with measuring (same time of day after eating similar amounts of food, etc).

I understand … I started my weight loss journey 6 months ago, and by eating entirely different and changing my lifestyle, I am down 85 lbs so far.. I stopped the ice cream, fast food, eating out, processed food – basically treating my body like a sewer, and started eating leafy greens, cruciferous veggies, juice smooties daily (thick,blended, 12-15 different veggies and fruits with a 3-1 veggie to fruit ratio), elminated almost all high gylcemic foods, high dietary fiber – 40g+ most days, high protien (30% of total caloric consumption from whey protien, eggwhite omlettes, albacore tuna -little to no red meat , chia, flax seeds daily – legumes, nuts — and one cheat day a week that I eat as much of anything I want.

The thing that is tough, though — is given that my goal is 100lbs down by 2/23 (my birthday) – it is frustrating when I deviate slightly (had one night where I ate quite a bit of carmel corn, and the next day big stirfry with light soy sauce, etc) – yet because I ate even more strict and cleaner than before for 11 straight days before that (not one cheat day, processed food or meal), I gained 14 — yes 14 — pounds in water weight that two weeks later I have only lost 12 of, despite hitting the gym 6 times since, and continuing to eat stellar (no cheat- low sodium days) — Funny thing is, my clothes are looser and looser—

I guess the point is that the scale can play tricks on you — when I started this at 435 lbs, couldnt move without pain, couldnt walk two minutes without being out of breath- it wasnt easy – my body was in such shock from eating clean that when I ate anything with medium-high sodium I would gain 8 lbs in three hours afterwards — mathmatically impossible… But the end result is I had full blown diabetes, poor good and bad cholesterol, and electrolytes– In 8 weeks all of those things turned around, including the diabetes being gone. 4 weeks later my numbers looked like that of somebody half my size and in good health. Please dont let the scale fool you – judge by the progress that you accomplish

Thank you so much for this!!! I’m having the same problem. Im a female, used to weigh 331 lbs, and I’m 5’2. Lost 140 of it, but after going thru a divorce (depression and stress eating), gained back 60. I can’t get it off for anything!!! I went from being completely lazy, and only moving about 1200 steps a day on my fitbit, and eating EVERYTHING…to eating between 1200-1500 calories a day, walking 6 miles every day, and working out with a personal trainer 3X a week….only to have the scale stay the same….except when I eat a little more, or something that’s not in my diet, the scale will go up about 8 pounds, and it takes weeks to see that go away. I’ve been working out hard, eating right, and got down to 237…but I had 3 pieces of Pizza one day, about a month ago, and the scale has been stuck at 245 ever since!!! It goes up with the more water I drink, but I pee that out when I wake up from sleeping, and it’s right back at 245. I’m so frustrated, I can’t stand it. Dr has ran every test imaginable, and there’s nothing wrong. I thought I was going insane!! It’s good to see someone else having the same problem, but still losing, even though the scale says otherwise. 🙂

Great article, but I’d like to share an opposite. I’ve never been serious about exercising, but from what I had gathered my eating habits were generally not that unhealthy. I don’t do fast foods and very rarely drink soda (when I do, I opt for the diet variation which I’ve also given up now due to fear of all the chemicals and artificial stuff I read they put in), however, I am still overweight. My BMI was 27. I started counting calories as a new year resolution ( I make sure I get quality calories and try as much as possible to keep it under 1400 – an app called My Fitness Pal suggests I eat around 1700 calories a day). I have started exercising everyday (or at least 6 days a week), I primarily do cardio (walk on the treadmill for about 60 to 70 minutes at an incline of 15, speed ranging from 4.5 kph to 5.5 kph). I keep it low impact because i just can’t keep up running for an extended period of time. Since the beginning of February I have started some light weight training. I’m happy to say I have lost about 13 pounds and look forward to break away from an overweight BMI ratio very soon! I’m almost there!

Yes, that is correct Coach! Do you think it’s too much, too quick? My wife seems to think that I’m obsessed with losing weight. I go for a walk after lunch, I go for a walk when my computer at work tells me to take a break (my company insists on us using a software that tells us to take a break every couple of hours or so for ergonomic reasons), I go for a walk every time I can (and that is excluding my daily evening routine on the treadmill)!

For just over 5 weeks, I don’t think it’s necessarily too much, especially if you’re just getting started, as much of that will be water weight too. Just don’t be discouraged if you don’t maintain that pace. 1-2 pounds per week is much more realistic.

After reading this, I am expecting my body fat caliper to arrive by tomorrow from Amazon. If I’ve been on a diet plan for six weeks which had too few calories (have been at plateau for a month now), is it better to jump right on up to 12x current body weight, or to do this gradually so as not to undo the weight loss I had from the first two weeks?

Can you help me Please please please figure out the calorie intake and Marco’s for me? I would greatly appreciate it my email is MissJLD1976@gmail.com,( All lower case)
Thank you so much I would very much appreciate it

I was hoping you can help me confirm that my ‘fat’ loss program is on the right track. I have been working out 6 days a week for about a year (4 days a week of kickbox and the other 2 days of some HIIT including cardio). On top of these workouts I also walk at least an hour a day. My diet consists of approx 1650 cals a day and are based on avg of 20-25 fat (very little Sat and zero Trans), 30-35% lean proteins, and the remainder is made up of low GI and complex carbs. I haven’t seem to budge on the scale and my body fat% hasn’t changed much either. Last couple of weeks I have shuffled up my cals so that I still avg 1650 a week but I have high and low days. Any tips on what I may be doing wrong? I’m trying not to get discouraged but somedays are tough to maintain my motivation. (I am 5’9, 150lbs, female, age 40)
Thanks,

The nutrition coach had me on 1200. In the first week, I felt really hungry and had a lot of irritability and fogginess (likely while the processed junk was clearing out, I figured). After 2 weeks, I was down 12-13 lbs. Since then, nothing. It keeps bouncing up and down around the same pound mark. One of your other articles referred to these benchmark levels (I’m not using the right word)? This is one of those points I always hang at, whether it be gain or loss (depending on my habits). I am needing to lose a total of 30-35 lbs, so I still have a long way to go. I’m glad to have gotten off the 12-13, but a month at this weight is playing mental tricks on me now, making me feel like I’m failing.

Such a great article. I am using a body fat scale by Omron right now and it seems to be accurate. I step on it in the morning first thing. Not every day but maybe once a week. I feel the scale is so not the best way to measure. I have lost only 25 pounds since last year but I am down from an exploding size 12 to a comfie size 6. That is measurement enough for me. I eat about 1600 healthy calories a day – protein at all meals. I do mostly weight lifting and very little cardio. I have never felt better in my life. Love reading this articles!!!

This is a fantastic article. A couple of weeks ago i weighed myself after a month of hard training and eating sensibly, i didnt feel like im losing any weight. im still the same; but my body fat was down, and my clothes are loose. Im getting there with stomach crunches and the plank, but is there anything else i can do to get my stomach a bit flatter, as im sick of people asking me if im pregnant? p/s im 5″7.3″ tall would i look too skinny if i weigh 67kg, as thats my target weight?

I wouldn’t go so far as saying gadgets are a waste of money, as they can be fun and motivating. But I do agree with you on weighing yourself infrequently if you don’t have a good relationship with the scale.

Everytime I get on the scale, I get discouraged. I work out 6 days a week for 1 hr everyday, I eat healthy and when I go on the scale, it still shows that I have not lost or that I only lost 1lb since I started my weight loss journey. I feel like giving up.

Hi Kendy, remember to not make healthy behaviors contingent on losing weight. You eat whole foods and move your body because it makes you feel your best and makes you healthier. Weight loss tends to be the side effect of being engaged with that process.

I love this article. I have a question for you Coach Calorie, i work out 5 days a week for 30 mins. I consume up too 800 to 1,200 calories a day, but i am not losing any weight. I am using the Lose It app, and i eat so healthy and make the right choices when it comes to having a healthy lifestyle. But it seems that i am not losing weight, and the lose it app, keeps saying i consume up to 700mg of sodium a day to 1000mg. Is that the reason why , I am not losing weight. I am getting discouraged and want to give up. I am 5’3 and weight 160 , i have been working out for a month now, and also the Lose It app says i should consume only 1,200 calories per day.

Year ago I ran a marathon but during marathon training I started to put on weight but calorie intake was around 1100 – 1200 calories (far too low).continued gainingweight ( 10kg).still running 24miles a week , weight train with a personal trainer x1weekly,weight session on my own x1,x1circuit class,x1kettle fit class per week .body media gadget estimates calories should be 1700 with a 1100 deficiet each day.initially 6lb weight loss but all has stopped and weight flunctuates up and down to starting weight ?? Not sure what else todo ??

I wouldn’t go any more than 1000 calorie deficit, and depending on your starting body composition, this may be too much. I prefer creating just enough of a deficit that it results in a downtrend in weight. Focus on trend over pace.

I did WW hardcore for two years – lost a total of about 25 pounds in the first year, and according to their goal for me, I had another 25 to lose. The last year of doing it I stopped losing, so I started working out intensely. For the next year I did an average of 7-9 hours a week of studio classes (Zumba, turbo-kick, kettlebell, etc.). I gained back about 8 pounds….(and it’s definitely not all muscle! LOL!) Is it possible that the stress hormones of working out too hard for a 48 yr old menopausal woman make weight loss almost impossible? I’m exhausted from dieting and working out for hours every day, and I’m still fat.

The weight gain that occurs when you start a new exercise program typically happens within the first month. If you have weight gain after a year, there are other issues at fault. And I think it’s far from impossible for you to lose weight during menopause.

Have you tried cutting back on the exercise a bit? Overtraining can cause many of the symptoms you’re experiencing. Working out should be fun and sustainable. Three intense workouts a week mixed in with being active the other days should be plenty. Combine that with a diet that is 90% whole foods and you will see positive body composition changes.

Hello, Would you say a 5lb weight gain in the first month of Resistance, Kettlebell and Circuit Training is normal? You said be prepared for a little weight gain, what quanitfies as a little? 🙂 Thanks HR

You definitely won’t be able to do all the sites by yourself. Do the sites you can reach and then compare the measurements week to week. You might not be able to get a percentage reading, but you can compare the relative skinfold measurements over time.

I have been exercising 4 to 5 days a week, jog, walk, push ups, arm dips, step ups, squats , lunges, crunches… for 45 mins to an hour, one day a week I do cross fit ,,,,, been doing this for almost 2 months, drinking plenty of water, feeling great but only lost not even 3 pounds, my husband said it looks like I had lost 15 to 20, I can tell things are changing a bit, my stomach, my legs, hips and love handles…. Why am I not losing more weight ??? So frustrated

Other than what I explained in this article, you might want to consider measuring body fat percentage changes, and if you aren’t already, start counting calories so that you can manipulate them when weight loss stalls.

If the scale is controlling you even though you’re making progress and others are noticing it, consider putting the scale away and focusing more on how you feel.

A huge THANK you for this explanation!! I was getting so discouraged after a month of eating clean, upping my workout regimen, having more energy than I have had in years, and all my clothes fitting great, only step on the scale and gained upward to 5 lbs! I have decided to skip the scale for now, and gage my progress on that favorite pair of jeans I am trying to get in!

I really needed to read this, I only have around 10lbs to lose but have been stuck in a spiral of eating clean and exercising well for a week, seeing no weight change and so getting discouraged and bingeing on cookies! I’m now going to refer back to this page every time I feel discouraged…thanks!!

So frustrating! I hit the gym for about two months straight doing about an 40 mins of cardio and 30 minutes of the work out machines, I gain 12 lbs in that two months and it seemed I was just building muscle on top of my fat, The fat just wouldnt go away, I know I have trouble eating most of the time I just cant seem to feed myself at the right times and now my weight has just got out of hand! I dont know what to do or how to get my self back on track!

Like I said I’m not a big eater! I do notice though when I force myself to eat in the morning I tend to lose a little more weight, I have a history of hypothyroidism so I’m wondering if that is still part of the issue? And if that is contributing to my weightloss failure what can I do to overcome those obsticals?

If you truly believe you’re undereating then there are other issues at play. Have you started taking new medications? This is the #1 reason I see people suddenly gain weight without a change in lifestyle.

Hi there – bit late to the discussion but here goes:
After being extremely underweigjt I regained my starting weight and a bit more. I exercise a lot – I am a dancer and a gym instructor and make sure I do some form of exercise everyday. My metabolism has recently stopped it seems and I got into a rut of eating very little and doing more cardio. This has only make me less lean! Do you suggest I up my calories? At the moment I am sometimes under 1000 but always under 1200. I feel uneasy to increase. But the less I eat the more I gain it seems! My metabolism used to be on fire during my weight gain and now has done the opposite! Sorry for the ramble. What do you think? Thank you x (I am 21)

You should NEVER be under 1200 calories per day. Ever. Especially with an active lifestyle. Your metabolism is not slow. It’s working overtime! The point of your metabolism is to hoard nutrients that your body needs to function and get rid of the rest. If you’re eating calories in the 900-1100 per day range, your body is likely storing every single ounce of anything you put in it because you’re not eating enough calories in a day to function properly. Eat more! Eat healthy, but eat more.

I’m 18 years old and currently weigh 132 lbs. About two months ago I was my smallest weighing 121 lbs. Around that same time i started iron pills because I found out I was slightly anemic. I work out 5-6 days a week, varying to 30-40 minutes of intense cardio with a combined plan for weight training focusing on legs and my back. I also do interval training and kickboxing once -twice a week. Once I saw my self starting to gain weight I was questioning what I was doing wrong so I downloaded my fitness pall and started tracking my calories to 1300-1400 calories a day. I don’t eat any fast food and eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and protein. I think its water weight as my body feels puffy and swollen. I drink 8 glasses of water a day. I’ve seen that I have gained weight in my stomach, on my sides and on my back. I am also very stressed and this is a leading issue causing my stress…..I need a new approach to lose fat or if its water weight

I have been going to the gym for a month and gained 12 pounds….i go 4 times a week for almost 3 hours….i go lift weights and do 30 minute cardio. ..My eating habits have greatly improved but this scale really freaked me out and I feel down….

I have been working out five days a week for six months, at first I lost 8lbs., then I noticed I started gaining after about the second month. It has been six months now and I have gained a total of 9 lbs..I have noticed that I am more muscular, and a bit slimmer..when I started I had high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, and my pulse was kind of high. At rest it was about 90 to 100, now 6 months later my high blood pressure and cholesterol is great. And my resting pulse is down to 63bpm…I hope I am on the right track, but I see I have quite a long way to go because to me I still see lots of flaws..:-)

And as for your flaws, I’d recommend you start working on improving your body image. If you don’t work on your critical mindset now, it will follow you all the way down to your goal physique. Then you’ll just nitpick over silly “flaws”.

I am having some confusion/ frustration with what I am suppose to be doing food intake wise. I have been slender and active all of my life. I tend to be 125 lbs and 5ft 8.5 in. With the first 3 kids I was back down to pre baby weight and clothes by 12 weeks postpartum (averaging 23-25 lbs per pregnancy – with the first two I was around 118lbs at 21 and 23 pregnancy/ playing sports regularly. Third up to 125 and 32 years old.). Not totally to “fit” at that point, but in the process through my healthy diet and exercise. I have never had to count calories. I just eat really healthy and was born without a sweet tooth. This pregnancy I started at 125lbs and gained a total of 30lbs. This pregnancy started out rough with weeks of pneumonia and then weeks of IVs and months of bed rest. I have told myself that because of the circumstances and my age now, 38 (baby is 11 mos), I need to be more patient with the weight loss and myself. I have managed to lose 20 lbs with a healthy diet and being active as a mom of 4. I have really buckled down now the last three weeks to get this weight off. I am doing a combination of weights, squats, planks, lunges, donkey kick circuits to fatigue daily (about 20 minutes and dripping in sweat) then ending with recumbent bike 15-20 minutes resistance 4 at a 23 or 30 minutes of walking, fast, conversation would be strained. I have been doing this 3 weeks with a calorie intake of 1200. I have gained 5 pounds and my stomach is now very bloated. It was flat prior to these three weeks. I just read yesterday about bmr, met, etc. The couple of calculators that I have used say “BMR 1369, Your daily calorie requirement is 2123 calories.” The best of my ability tells me that my exercise routine is burning 500-600 calories. I am confused how to mesh everything together to get the last 10 pounds off. How many calories should I be eating daily to get a deficit each week?

If I were you, I’d eat maintenance calories and focus on changing my body composition instead of losing more weight. At your height, 125 pounds is a healthy weight. If you think you have too much fat on your body, consider adding muscle to your frame while dropping body fat, and remaining at the same weight.
Something around 1800 calories is a good place to start. You can increase or decrease as necessary depending on the results you get, but focus more on body fat than weight.

I was never a big exercise person, was naturally slim but after two kids and about 15 lbs, I decided to get on track with a healthier lifestyle. I am 37, have been eating smaller meals, more veggies and running on the treadmill about every over day for 20 mins a day plus sit ups for 1.5 years. I lost 13 lbs I increased to adding crunches and over the past two weeks I have gained 2-3 lbs and gone over the number I want to see on the scale. I feel as if my stomach “feels” worse but I can’t say it looks fatter. I don’t feel as if my diet has changed so why the weight gain?

Glad I found this article – I hope I can clarify some problems I am having! I had a baby 9 weeks ago and so have not done any serious exercise since before I was pregnant. I go to the gym now, and have been doing proper workouts for the last couple of weeks (weights and cardiovascular etc). Since doing this I have lost no weight but put on a couple of pounds which I was feeling very depressed about! After reading this I see what you are saying about measuring fat instead and water retention, but what I want to know is; although there has been an initial weight gain, will this start to come off if I carry on with what I’m doing? I’m 5’7″ and 191lbs, 35% bf. Currently eating 1300-1600 calories a day and at the gym 3-4 times a week. Any ideas? Thanks!

The time period after having a baby is highly variable when it comes to weight fluctuations. There are just so many things going on with milk production, hormones, and water retention. I’m not sure if you’re breast feeding, but if you are, you’re likely not eating enough calories. Don’t be afraid to eat, especially right now. But yes, if you eat healthy and stay active, you can make progress.

Ive been experiencing the same problem. I started eating healthy 3 months ago and have lost 16kg without exercise. I have decided a week ago to start exercising. I exercised 4 times the past week and with a great dissapointed gained 1kg. I thought that I would lose a lot more seeing that I am exercising now. Without exercise I lost 2kg a week the last 3 weeks. I eat very healthy 3 meals a day with snacks in between. I follow a low GI eating plan. I drink 2l water a day and do not drink soda or coffee etc. Am I doing something wrong? I do cardio exercise for 20min and then weight training thereafter. Thanks. ….

Not doing anything wrong. When you go from no exercise to exercise, you gain water retention within muscles, as I explained in the article. The opposite is also true if you stop working out – you initially lose some of that water retention. Make no mistake, it is always a good thing to work out. Stick with it, ignore the initial weight gain, and then be patient as it slowly comes down.

I started a boot camp class at my gym a month ago. We work out 3 days a week for an hour. It varies with cardio, legs and arms exercises. I also do a group power class, 2 days a week. (lifting, working all muscles and some core)
I have gained 5 pounds so far, not happy with the scales. My BMI has only decreased by .1 and I can tell my body has more muscle.
I have tried making myself drink more water and eating protein after my work outs. I just don’t know how many calories I should be eating and what foods will help me lose the pounds.
Any suggestions would be very helpful. Oh and I am 45 years old, female and 5’7.
Thanks!

I am concerned because I WASN’T gaining weight before I started working out. I’d been the same weight for a long time. So it’s freaking me out- how can it be that I reduce my calories to 1500-1700 a day AND start working out every day, yet I have gained 7 pounds! Is that a normal amount of weight to gain from this? It’s only been three weeks! I’ve never had this problem losing weight before. And since I’m very very fat, I thought I would lose a lot in the beginning…

It really depends on how sedentary your lifestyle was before you starting working out, but yes, it is possible. I wouldn’t expect any more of an increase though. If you want piece of mind pick up a pair of body fat calipers so you can see where the extra weight is coming from (muscle, fat, water).

i do exercise and cardio for 30 minutes daily but without lifting any weights… also eat normaly.. i am in shape but i gained weight. i was of 65 kgs now i am of 68.. thats freaking me out… whats the reason????

Hii im a female 23yrs old, height 5’0 i hav joined gym 2months back and had increased 3kgs in a very iregular manner i got my thighs almost attached to each othr biceps arms and stomach..i hav searched in google what would be reason what i found is its the muscle growth my question is should i continue the gym even if i continue what if i grow more fat increasing my muscles further or should i stop going to gym

Yes – continue going to the gym. 3kgs over 2 months is a bit much over a long period of time, so you’re going to want to adjust your calories downward. The only way you’re going to “grow more fat” is if you’re in a caloric surplus. So keep training and adjust your calories until your weight starts trending down.

I play a sport in college and I came home weighing the same around 130 and I’m 5’4. I’ve been working out about 2-3 hours a day and eating around 1000-1500 calories a day and I checked the scale today and I weigh 142 what is going on?

So thrilled upon finding this article. I’ve been on a workout routine (hit the gym everyday) and watching what I eat for a few weeks now (consuming approx 1600 cals a day) and decided to check my progress with the scale. I was caught completely off guard, weighing in at 154 when before I started my program I was 148. I understand fluctuations are common but mine usually ranges from 144-150.. Never this high!

I almost lost all motivation to continue with my program until I saw this.

My only concern is in your article you mentioned a 200lbs individual retaining just a few plounds, does mine seem too high to be just associated to this? I’m 5’9″ and female if that is relevant..

It’s possible, especially if the 148 was a low day before you started. Weigh yourself each day this week and take an average. Then weigh yourself each day next week and take an average. If week 2’s average isn’t lower than 1’s cut 100 calories.

Hello my name is Sue , and i have started my fat loss journey a little over a month ago up and down 10 pounds it can go up to 17 pounds some days , i am fairly active i am a cleaner and i like to walk and dance , i eat around 1500 calories a day , I am 49 and 5 feet 2 inches and my starting weight before my loss i weighed 245 i know it is alot i have alot to lose , lol yes i do i know i have , but now i am 234 , i am doing good , i count and measure my portions , what am i allowed to eat for me i like structured eating , some one telling what to eat and how much , i guess if i had some one right there with me making sure i was doing the menu plan properly. i start of my day with one third a cup of Porridge , i put tbsp of wheat germ on top of the porridge . I also will measure 1 tablespoon of Brown Sugar for my Porridge. And i drink lots of water and when i am eat the Porridge i have my coffee and i put some skim milk in it and for sweetness i like 2 teaspoons of Raw Sugar . and i had an orange or pear or apple . So is that a good balance Breakfast off waking up , and than i will have later 3 hours or 4 hours later some Meat , Protein chicken or fish measure it cook in the oven . than i would bake a small baked potato in the microwave , and put a dab of sour cream on the potato , and than i would micro-wave 2 cups of mixed Vegetables , and have my big Glass of water . And than later on for Dinner i would have my Chicken with Salad , i cut up chicken and put in my Greens along with onions and 2 Boiled eggs and some Salad dressing i do measure what i put in stuff . I like Almonds for snacks , i don;t know if i am eating too many of those ?? I am walking or dancing , i try to exercise every day and keep more active . So is there anything i can; do better or i am on the right track lol , thank you very much Coach , it would be a great help

Hi Susan, your food choices look fine to me. The key is going to be your overall calorie intake and it’s relation to your activity levels. If you’re eating 1500 calories/day this is good so long as you are monitoring your weight and adjustment those calories. At your weight if you aren’t losing at least 1lb/week you need to cut calories. But this is ONLY if you are being consistent with your daily calories.

I am 55 years old, post menopausal. I have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis but right now the bloodwork is normal. I use myfitnesspal to track my calories , fats, carbs, etc. I set it up to lose 1 lb a week. I started at 152 lbs. I was down to 144.4 lbs 5 days ago. Today I weigh 147.7 lbs! What’s up with that! I do spin class 3 times a week, and a trx class 1 day a week. I wear a fitbit that records 6000-8000 steps a day. My total calorie intake varies from 1100-1350 a day. I have been using myfitnesspal for one month and my weight goes up and down…it is frustrating. My diet was not as clean as I thought it was which is why i decided to use monitor it more closely. Yesterday I did 60 minutes of spinning and followed with 45 minutes of trx class. I have noticed that my legs and arms are much more toned, but no decrease in body measurements. What is going on? I can’t get past 144 lbs? My weight was always steady and working out like I do is not new, but I use to be able to lose weight when i worked out like that.

Hi Susan, try working with averages. Weigh daily and take a weekly average and compare the weeks. Finally, don’t try to kill yourself with exercise. Set your calories at a reasonable level and your exercise at a sustainable level and adjust them systematically.

This article makes me feel relieve… I am on my fifth day of work out and clean eating. I lost 1.5 kg. But sometimes my scale will gain 0.5 kg again. It’s not consistent. I think I have to put my scale away, and see what happen on the next month!!

I am very glad I came across this article as well I was also getting discouraged it’s been about a month since I started working out and changed my eating habits and I have yet to lose any weight at all. I am noticing a difference in my stomach being flatter and my sides slimming. I will just keep up what I am doing and not pay attention to the scale! This really is a great article it helped me from stopping my workout routine 🙂

I had gastric sleeve surgery 7 months ago and I’ve lost 55 lbs. I track my calories and I’m eating between 900-1000 a day, all healthy foods. My surgeon says not to focus on calories, but rather protein and nutrition. I’ve been working out for 3 weeks, at least 6 days a week for a minimum of 1 hour. I switch between cardio, weight machines and swimming. And I’m gaining. I didn’t think this would happen with the sleeve.

Hi Diane, if you just started working out after being sedentary before that then this article is your explanation. If this continues to happen you’re going to want to take a closer look at your calorie intake. Your surgeon gave you good advice, but when something isn’t working the way it should you need to start gathering extra data.

I started Hammer and Chisel (Beachbody program) and I went from 150 to 163 today.. it’s been 5 weeks. I look better for sure but my clothes don’t fit. As a female, I’m obviously wondering when I’ll start using this muscle to shed the extra fat surrounding them. I’m eating enough food, the right food. Help!

Hey Megan, 13lbs is probably a little to much to be 100% attributed to muscle glycogen gains. The extra muscle is going to help you burn fat, but it won’t outrun a caloric surplus. I don’t know how many calories you’re eating but something around 1600/day is a good starting point. Monitor for a couple of weeks and then adjust as necessary.

I really needed to read this. I started living a healthy lifestyle and going to the gym 5-6 days a week about 3 weeks ago. I had even lost 4 pounds the first week. Well, today I saw I had gained those 4 pounds back. I was so disappointed in myself, I couldn’t stop crying.

I have been on a strict diet and go to the gym regularly initially I lost 4 kgs in 7 days. I went from 128.8 kgs to 124.8 but when I checked my weight on the 8th day it shows 125.9 kgs. I want to lose around 50 kgs. Is it possible to lose that much of weight with my diet and exercise programme in 7 months?

Possible but highly unlikely. You’re not going to lose weight every day. Weight loss isn’t linear. There are ups and downs. The trend over time – weeks and months is what’s important. Right now you’re losing 1lb/day. That is not going to continue. At your size 2lbs/week is doing great and will result in about 50kg in a year. But plan on longer.

Hi Diane, I don’t know your stats, but I would bring your calories back up to where they were when you stopped making progress and go from there. Hold calories there for 2 weeks and see what happens. If nothing then maybe cut 50-100 calories. I’m making a broad recommendation here since I don’t know all your information/history.

I’ve had an eating disorder for more than 15 years, and I’m working through it, but it’s really hard sometimes. In October, I took my normal 2hour cardio sessions that I was doing 6 times per week and changed to working out 4 days of cardio per week at 95 minutes. I’ve kept my calorie intake on those days about the same as before (around 1300), and on days that I’m not, I’m usually 800-850 on two days, 500-550 on one of the days. I have been getting weighed regularly at the doctor’s office, and in that time frame, I lost weight once, gained weight the next time, had two consecutive we-gh ins of steadiness, and then the past two check-ins have shown an increased weight. Both of those weigh ins were two weeks apart, and the fact that I went up, without TRYING to make the scale change (I actually RESTRICTED a little more) made me feel out of control. It would have made more sense in my head for me to have LOST weight, not gained it, and this makes me feel panic and as though I need to RESTRICT MORE. My ultimate goal is, of course, to get to a healthy weight and beat my eating disorder, but the feeling of lacking control (i.e. weight gain without me trying) is throwing my efforts off track.

Thanks Emily. Most people only see the huge success stories and assume losing 2+ pounds per week is the norm. So when they aren’t losing that they get frustrated (at the very least).

It’s about small losses (that are sustainable) over time. Even 1lb/week for a year equals 52 pounds lost. And I can guarantee you that if you go from 190lbs to 138lbs you’re going to look and feel a lot different.

I probably would have freaked out if I gained 2lbs when doing everything right. And come to think of it, I have like a million times lol. Will try to be more patient next time. Can you give me more information on coaching? Price? What’s included?

Glad you’re going to try to be more patient. Really try to separate yourself from your emotions and look at the data (your weight, calories, and measurements) from an unattached perspective. It helps a lot.

As for coaching, you can get more details on the programs I offer by clicking here.

I love your studies… I KNEW there was a reason I wasn’t losing weight because I am really healthy and hit the gym 3-5 days a week…turns out insulin resistance was the issue…now on a insulin resistance plan and weight coming off

Every time I read your articles, it’s like my brain cells line up again. 🙂
In the past three years, I’ve lost 62 pounds. Well, in November, my stepdad became really ill, my mom’s memory became worse, my stepdad passed away on thanksgiving and my mom’s memory got even worse. So between staying at the hospital for hours, being out of town and not in my own home, his death and the food people brought us, I started gaining weight. then came Christmas. In about three weeks, it became clear to my brother and I that my mom could no longer live alone, so he and I got a crash course in Memory Care Facilities and we moved my precious, grieving mom from her house to a facility 6 hours away from where she’d lived most of her life. As a result I’ve gained 23 pounds. I’m just SICK!!
I’m working on losing it. Thank you for the great things you always have for us.

You are making so much sense to me. I lost 17 pounds then over the next month I gained a pound then lost it and this week I lost another pound but I so nearly gave up. I think my problem was I was being too strict with myself. I am at Slimming World and don’t eat all my syns. Am going to try and eat them this week and see how I go as I stick to the diet 100%. It is sole destroying when you hear people say they haven’t stuck to the plan but are losing weight. Since reading your e mail I am again focused. Thank you.

Glad it helped Jackie. Definitely don’t give up. If you give up there’s a 100% chance you won’t succeed. Those are some pretty bad odds. 😉

I would also recommend you don’t get too weight focused. I know weight loss is the goal, but if you make your eating and activity decisions based solely on that it can get discouraging. Make good choices because it makes you feel good. The weight loss is a side effect.

Weird weight gain (or to be precise, extra belly fat) happened to me about 16 years ago (I was 27).

At the time, I worked as a lawn mower for this one agency. In August of that year, I didn’t work out for two weeks because of the shutdown at our local Y (they did that every year. It was an inspection period).

A few months later, I had, it seemed, way more fat on my belly. I wasn’t drinking beer much at the time (if at all), and I was getting enough sleep (as far as I can remember).

When I did work out, I was using the treadmill and things like that (although I didn’t up my usage until after this BS fat came on). If I wasn’t eating a whole lot, and moving around, how in the heck would I put on that much weight there (I know that I was turning 27, but geez)?

My mowing job ended in October. I would work out at the Y about three times a week after that, but knowing what I know know, I was probably doing too much treadmill and exercise bike work (didn’t have any knowledge about HIIT back then). I was probably confused and a little panicked because this fat seemed like it came for no reason at all.

As for my dietary changes, I remember getting cravings during the day for 32-40 ounce sodas when I was at work, and I would have those at least three times a week. However, after the job was over, I don’t think I had them as much. I don’t remember eating at night too much, either (the affect on weight with night eating is up in the air by some, though), and I would get my eight hours in most nights.

I have another theory about this: Sweatpants. Back then, I was wearing them every day at work, even in the heat (I would have worn shorts, but we had crappy lawns to mow at times with rocks and pebbles that could come up and get you). I remember the next year. It was real hot. I was wearing small sweatpants, and all of a sudden, I noticed that they were getting too tight. I wonder if exercising in sweatpants all the time had anything to do with extra weight gain.

Hard to say what the issue was so long ago, JB, but I don’t think it had anything to do with the sweatpants. There were likely some dietary or activity changes that aren’t being accounted for. Without knowing calorie intake or how your weight did on a week to week basis leading up to that gain I can’t really give a definitive answer.

These posts are incredibly helpful. You hit all the things that those of us who have struggled with our weight for years have been experiencing, (and doing all the wrong things!)
Thank you for this “free advice”. Looking forward to the opportunity for one on one coaching!

What about someone, me, who has been following weight watchers faithfully for 3 weeks and haven’t lost a single pound? I’ve all but cut out any type of sugar and eat very little refined carbs. I don’t get it. Before, I was eating nothing but junk all day and now I’m eating 3 squares a day and lots of healthy foods. I also ride a stationary bike vigorously every day 30 min and walk my dog every day 30 min. What gives?

I’ve had a rough couple of years. Long story short… was extremely active then 3 yrs ago got a spinal cord infection that did permanent damage. Became sedentary for a year then started riding an indoor recumbent bike. Been riding for two years but eating junk. Just started WW 3.5 weeks ago and began eating healthy. Also walk my doggie for 30 min every day. Still riding for 30-45 min a day. Every day. I’m also on a boatload of meds…pain patch, pain pills, antidepressants and Lyrica. Could all this have messed with my metabolism? Even saw my dr today who didn’t have a clue as to how to advise me. I’m 53. 5’4″ and have maintained my weight at 157 for the past 2 years. Any suggestions? I’m going crazy!

Medication can definitely affect your metabolism. But don’t let that be a death sentence to your weight loss goals. Your progress may be slower and you might need a different calorie intake than others, but it’s every bit as possible to lose weight.

My first week hasn’t gone well , I weighed myself earlier in the week and had lost 1% body fat but no weight which I was happy with now at the end of the week my body fat is the same but my weight as increased by .4. I have followed a 1451 calories a day diet set by your calculator and walked 3 miles , 3 times this week at 3.5 mph brisk walking (I’m normally sedentary ) plus my cross trainer twice for 20 mins. But nothing is changing much yet. I will try another week at the same levels then drop the calories by 50, am I doing the right thing by waiting ? Love your website.

Hi Lindsey, first off, don’t pay attention to the body fat readings on your scale. They are close to worthless. Very inaccurate.

Second, I can tell you’re already getting caught up in the day to day grind of weight loss. It’s only been a week. You’re going to have to be a lot more patient. You are not going to lose weight every week. Make your eating and exercise decisions based on the fact it makes you feel good and makes you healthier. Don’t do them for the scale.

Thank you for the comprehensive explanation! I’m a 30 yo woman and I’ve been on a low-carb weight loss plan for about 7-weeks losing ~19 lbs so far (woohoo). SW was 257 and i’m hoping to lose 100 eventually. I incorporated working out – mainly cardio – over the last 2 weeks and my body has seemingly shut down – no weight loss and even a 3 lb gain. I’m eating 1400-1500 calories per day and working out 4-5 times per week so I thought since I’ve done so well controlling calorie intake, adding working out I should have this in the bag! Not the case so far and I was admittedly panicking a little, but it sounds in line with your description. Any tips to push through though? Thanks!

Great article! But for me weight loss is still a huge struggle. Lost 120lbs last year, maintained for six months and then started rapidly gaining. As in 65lbs in five months. All test have come back normal and was told by repeated doctors to exercise more and eat less. Calorie tracking shows I eat 1200-1400 on average. I work out daily for 60 minutes. And I am still gaining an average of 3lbs a week. I am at a complete loss as what to do!

Hi Alexa, something isn’t adding up. 3lbs in a week is 10,500 extra calories ABOVE maintenance. If you are only eating 1200 calories/day, that’s only 8,400 calories. However, that’s only if your maintenance calories is ZERO, which it isn’t.

So I’m not sure what to say. If you’re truly gaining 3lbs consistently each week you’re either tracking calories wrong or you’re holding a lot of water for some reason.

I don’t know your stats, but 1200 is likely too low anyways. Reassess where you are right now. Double check your numbers and anything else that changed during the period of weight gain.

I’ve lost 75 lbs in 11 months by going 30% vegan, 70% cold-press juicing and running 3-4 miles every other day. I still get my 10,000 steps in as well. Ive recently become stagnant as far as weight loss, (need to lose 30 more lbs). So I joined a hard-core type fitness class 3 days a week. Been training with cardio and weights diligently for 3 weeks. I’ve GAINED 8 lbs!!! What the heck???

I’ve been leading a very sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle for a number of years. I had a health scare about a month ago and since then, I’ve begun exercising regularly and eating better. I’ve gained about 5lbs since I started taking better care of myself a few weeks ago! I was like “wait! I’m supposed to be losing weight, not gaining it!”. I actually just put a call in to my Dr today to ask if a new med I have to take for my heart has anything to do with it but now I understand what’s going on. I was feeling pretty discouraged and defeated but now I feel like I just need to keep up the healthy changes and be patient. Thank you so much!

Hi Tony, I’m 1.57cm and trying to keep at 90lbs. I’ve gained 10lbs over the past few months due to my uncontrolled binge eating of lots of bread & peanut butter & sometimes chocolates and wafers which I’m trying to kick this bad habit! It’s been unsuccessful as I will be good for the week and comes weekend when I give myself a relax I start to binge eat and what’s scary is I actually secretly love binge eating 🙁 will you be able to help me?

Hi Jessie, as much as I’d love to help you, we probably aren’t a good fit. At 90lbs I wouldn’t feel right about helping you lose weight. I think the binge eating is what needs to be worked on most. And something along the lines of working on your body image and your relationship with food would make the biggest impact in your life.

Thank you again for the informative blogs.
I have had the situation where I lost a lot of weight ( not too quickly though) and was up and down a few pounds for a long time ( trend of flat lining).
I have upped my calorie intake to 1760 having gone down to 1560 and I had exactly as you described in terms if a rise and now a fall again to get me going again.
My only confusing problem now is that although I get the percentages of food types more or less spot on. I find I dont reach the actual amounts supposedly needed for nutrition without going over my calorie limits ( I tend yo use My Fitness Pal to help me with decisions on quantities and types of foods). Any comments on how I can improve on compiling my diet and the rquired nutrients?

I’m a little confused on this part – “I find I dont reach the actual amounts supposedly needed for nutrition without going over my calorie limits”.

By “actual amounts” are you referring to micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc) or macronutrients (fat, carbs, protein)? If the former, look into adding more fruits and veggies to your meals. If the latter, there is something wrong, as total calories is just a simple calculation derived from fat/carb/protein grams.

Sorry for the confusion but yes I am mainly referring to the macronutrients (fats, carbs and protein) in that I can find I have met my daily calorie goal, then check the percentages and find they are pretty well in range (50 carb, 30 fat, 20 protein) as you have stated before. However, when I look at the corresponding nutrient figures (in grams consumed) I invariably find they are short of the stated target in MFP. I wondered if I may have been doing something wrong in my calculations but your last comment infers there may be a problem within the MFP data calculations for the macronutrients.

Yeah, with LoseIt and MFP they sometimes don’t count fiber grams or sugar alcohols in the grams total, but they do in the calorie counts. It’s odd, I know. In addition, double check the foods you’re adding have all the fat/carb/protein grams listed. Sometimes foods will just have calories and may leave out one or all the macros.

Hi .. I am stuck .. I am eating heathy and I do weights and cardio and can not lose an oz of weight .. I have gained 4lbs in a month .. I do think my hormone patch has a lot to do with it.. How do I fight this?

Hello
Your counter says 1260 is my TDEE and that 1070 is a weight loss eating amount.
I have restricted for 7-8 years and had ED issues. I’m trying now to fix my metabolism. Is this number right? I thought you said around 1000 was too low?
I have intermittent fasted for two years too but then taken it too far and not eaten enough or at all. My psych and doc think my metabolism is stuffed and I need to eat more to fix it but according to your numbers I’m probably already eating around enough? Help!
27, 5’2, 130 pounds, wish to be 125.

I have been consistently working 4-5 times a week every other day I swim., the other days I use the treadmill and work out with the machines. I have been doing smoothies (spinach, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, flax seed, chia seeds, plant based protein powder, and green tea; no added sugar. Eating salads for lunch and dinner mainly green salads with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Some times pasta salad with spinach garlic and Italian spices. I have even almost completely cut out cheese as well. Since the beginning of August. I have literally gain a totally of 14 lbs. What do I need to do. I have noticed myself getting tighter, things look smaller.

Hi Joanne, 14lbs is a lot in 8 weeks. That would require a near 1,000 calorie surplus each and every day. So I’d double check your numbers and that you’re eating a reasonable amount of calories. Just because it’s healthy it doesn’t mean it’s low calorie.

Take a few days and add up your calories to see what you’re really eating. Don’t guess.

I am a 5’3″, 20 year old college female, at 158 pounds with a goal of 135, (BMI=28, Bf~30%) I hit 135 last year in October, but did this by eating around 1000 calories and running 6 miles a day (lost my cycle), because nothing else was working and I had been trying for a year to lose weight. I then transitioned into doing really intense hiit workouts (45 min to 1 hour) while keeping cals low and eating mostly a lot of protein, but it was very unsustainable.

I was able to maintain this weight loss until this past winter, when I noticed weight gain and got to 150 pounds by the start of summer (no changes in diet). I also added in weight training and hiit, while eating under 1800 (I’d say between 1400-1600) but got to 158 at the end of summer.

I decided to completely stop working out, and tried going low carb around 80 grams a day, and lost about 4 pounds in 5 days (156), and have been maintaining around 158 (even though I am eating less than maintenance). Currently, I have been taking a break from working out for over a month and am trying to lose weight by lowering cals while eventually adding in workouts. Some days I’m so hungry I have 2100- 2500 with a lot of carbs and actually maintain or even lose, while others I intake 1400 with low carbs and may lose/stay the same/gain, all while not working out.

Even if I run a little, if I take a break, the weight comes right back on, even if I’m eating at a deficit. Per blood check, I have a super fast metabolism, a little bit on the higher side of cortisol (still normal ranges). I build muscle very easily, and would like to decrease the size of them as well. Please let me know where you recommend I approach this problem!

Hi Sandhya, the biggest issue I’m reading is in your consistency. Your calories are very variable, your carbs are either really high or really low, and exercise is sporadic.

I’d recommend you find a balanced macronutrient ratio and calorie target and stick with that for a few weeks while being consistent with exercise. Then make small adjustments downwards of 50-100 calories if you aren’t losing weight. Repeat that process until you are.

Hi there! Wanted to ask this question in case it helps someone else. It seems most of the people who ask questions are either new to exercise or/and have been severely restricting calories and are trying to lose weight. But how about if you’ve been mildly restricting (not on purpose) and are trying to *gain* weight (muscle)?

I’ve always been physically active, but this year I took a good look and realized that for the number of years I’ve been working out, I have very little to show for it. I’ve always been thin, but not super lean. The times I’ve really leaned out (on accident), I’ve looked like Skeletor – so it’s like my body has had a set amount of muscle it likes to keep and won’t grow any more. Any fat loss made me look too skinny.

Well, I stumbled upon your site and another one like it, and realized I’ve probably been chronically underfeeding. I started tracking every bite of food, and I’ve been eating between about 1400 and 1600 calories a day. When I check out TDEE calculators, they say that for a sedentary maintenance level, I should be eating around 1900 cals! And I’m definitely not sedentary (strength train 4 days a week, walk an hour a day at least 5 days a week, mostly stand at work. and I had been throwing in 2 days of about a half hour of cardio until 3 weeks ago when I changed everything to gear toward gaining some muscle weight).

AND – I found I was really undereating protein if I wanted to put on some muscle.

On top of this, I realized I wasn’t drinking enough water – maybe four glasses a day. So I was very often constipated (sorry, TMI).

About 3 weeks ago, I started drinking a gallon of water a day, increased my protein to around 100 grams a day, and started making sure I get at least between 1600 and 1800 calories a day. A few times I made it to 1900, but it was a struggle.

I think my metabolism is so set at a lower range that if one day I eat 1900 calories, the next day my natural appetite is to eat about 400 calories less.

Anyway, with these adjustments, I feel so much better – I swear drinking much more water has given me a mini facelift – I have more energy for workouts, and have noticed a strength increase, but I’ve gained three pounds (I’m 5′ 6 and a half inches, weigh 134 now) and although it’s nice to have a slightly bigger butt : P, I feel squishier around the waist.

So I guess my questions are – am I on the right track?
Is it advisable/expected to ignore natural hunger signals at the beginning in order to reset the metabolism?
I’m assuming some of the weight and fluff gain has to do with glycogen stores, but could some be my body learning how to deal with the increase in water intake? I’m also assuming some of the size gain is fat with a little muscle because, duh, more calories.

Thanks for any input, and thanks for the awesome web site! Very enlightening : )

Hi Camille, when it comes to adding muscle, either through maintaining weight or by gaining some, I like to take the same approach as losing weight, but in reverse.

In other words, when losing weight I use small systematic calorie reductions to keep weight trending down. If I want to more easily add muscle, then I would take my current calorie intake and start by adding 100 calories to it and monitor my progress. I’d keep adding 50-100 calories until my weight/body composition is doing what I want.

Hi! I wanted to ask a question because I’m very frustrated and discouraged. I have been struggling w/my weight for many years now and have found that walking was always a successful exercise for me and I lost a lot doing it on a regular basis. Recently I moved and my routine had changed from walking outdoors to relying on my treadmill, which I was doing 4x/weekly and it seemed to maintain for quite a while. All of a sudden I started to plateau & then noticed I’m gaining both in weight & inches. I decided to start adding more exercises to my workout and now I work on a different body part a day 4x/week added to the treadmill, still no changes. I have concluded that walking outdoors always seemed to make a difference & treadmill not so much, so I am now back to walking 3-4miles at least 4x/week outdoors added to the other exercises. I have cut down carbs & fats, sugars etc., but don’t count calories because that never worked for me, just frustrated me more. My question I guess is…can treadmill vs outdoor walking make a difference? I can’t figure out why I’m gaining now that I have added more exercises to my workout & watch what I eat. Can you help?

Hi Trish, indoor vs outdoor walking shouldn’t make a difference other than the enjoyment/adherence factor. But if you’ve added more exercise and started strength training, the process I laid out in this article likely pertains to your situation.

Hi! I would like to ask a very serious question. My situation is a little different from many of you as I’ve been working out 5 days a week for two years and have gained five pounds plus some. I am 5”2 28 yr old female and originally at 110-113 lbs. I am now up to almost 118 lbs!! It scares me because even though I don’t feel fat the scale makes me think it. I am a vegetarian and In the beginning I started taking vegan protein powder … 110 cal per scoop and less than .5 grams of fat. I thought I was doing everything right … but I believe this made me gain weight. I have stopped this and just stick to eating healthy and doing cardio plus weight lifting but yet the lowest I’ll get is 115lbs Naked! I used to weigh this with clothes and shoes. It’s so disheartening and now I’m starting to think their is something medically wrong with me. I have an obsession with weight and this is severely depressing me. I feel like starving myself. Granted I have been eating a little more than when I was 110lbs but that’s because I’ve been working out more … I do the stair master for 30 min at high level 12 and join hard core boot camp classes at my gym every week plus weight lifting. I’m scared to step on the scale anymore ..and feel like giving up. Once before I was working out daily and doing the same routin weighing in at 113 lbs and once I stopped working out it all fell off of me and I went down to 109.

Hi Jazz, the issue here isn’t a medical one – it’s a psychological one. Weight is not always fat. At your height you can have a six pack at an even higher weight.

Exercise adds weight in some cases in the form of muscle glycogen. This is just glucose and water, but it is weight. It’s good weight though. Yes, there is such a thing as good weight.

Glycogen is fuel with in the muscle. When you stop working out you lose this fuel and you sometimes lose weight. But even though the scale went down you are actually going backwards in your fitness and health goals.

Thank you so much. After not doing hardly any activities for the last 2 years. I gained 20lbs. So when i started working out the past 4 days. An hour each day. And i went from 198lbs to 212lbs. So that would explain all this extra weight im gaining?

Hi Justin, 14lbs is quite a bit extra to explain 100% muscle glycogen. I’d say half that could be it. The other half is likely due to a caloric surplus. Sometimes we don’t realize we’re eating more, but more physical activity natural elevates your metabolism and appetite.

Pay close attention to your body composition. If you aren’t getting leaner, even though your weight is increasing, then you’ll likely want to cut some calories.

Help!
I was perfectly happy at my weight and how my clothes fit, but decided i should start exercising again after taking about 2 years off! I have just been run/walking on the treadmill for about 55 minutes every day, no weight training, haven’t changed my eating habits, and have gained 5 POUNDS and my clothes, especially on my legs, are tighter. I’m freaking out a bit. Everything I’ve read says that the weight gain could just be muscle, but c’mon, its only been a month and I’m not weight training!! I don’t think i can put muscle on that fast!! I also don’t think its the glycogen/water weight, as its been over a month and I should have started seeing that go away, if that was what the issue is. I would like to just tone up, not create bulk, but it seems as though I am doing just that.

I am 5’7″ and weighed 130 before I started working out at the end of November and now I weigh 135 and my pants are tighter 🙁 I want to keep working out, because it makes me feel good, but my pants not fitting does NOT make me feel good and am considering stopping working out. I know, i should be more concerned with being healthy, but sadly, i’m more concerned with my size and how my clothes fit :/

Thank you SO much for responding! I appreciate it 🙂
I guess it was my understanding that after a few weeks the water would kind of flush out of your system and I would see the scale go back down. Is it possible that I just started back into working out too quickly or too fast? If I just walk at a easy pace for an hour would that make less of such an impact?
I know that it isn’t really a hard fast rule, but if I have a calorie deficit and keep exercising, when do you think it too long to re-evaluate? I feel like its already been way longer than it should to see the scale go back down, but if you say it could still be the glycogen, then I will stick with it a little longer.

It’s possible that walking would reduce the “impact”, but the issue is the impact isn’t bad. I think you’ll first want to work on your relationship with the scale and your perspective of weight.

I know it’s hard to see the scale go up, but increased glycogen storage is actually a side effect of progress. And I’m assuming you’d be happy at any weight so long as you had the look and body composition you wanted?

So focus on the things you can control – your behaviors, and let the side effects happen naturally.

The adaptation I’ve found usually doesn’t last longer than a month, but that’s not a set rule. Mostly it depends on how much exercise volume you’re doing. If that increases then the glycogen storage will increase too (to a degree).

Hi, my name is Marie Allen. I have been on a diet for about four months now. At first I just cut my calorie intake to 1200 or maybe a little under. I would walk and that was about the only changes that I done. I didn’t own a scale, I only noticed that I lost weight based upon fitting in clothes that I couldn’t before. I end up going to my obgyn and when I was weighed I was 273… I then knew my weight for sure which lead me to believe that I had to weigh more then this in the beginning when I didn’t own a scale. I then continued my same routine for another month. I then brought a scale and it said that I didn’t lose any weight. I went up in weight and I don’t even know why. Do you have a clue what can be going on?

I’m actually in tears because I’ve weighed in at 78 kg last January 28th but then gained 4 kgs even when I was consistently working out for the past two weeks (cardio and strength on alternating days) and have cut on alcohol and pizza and sugar… thank you for this article. I’d have to say that I’m also guilty of binge-eating sometimes (and eating rice and pasta) coz I feel like my workouts are not getting me anywhere, so why bother? But after reading this and some of the other comments, it gives me the motivation I need especially now that I’m on the brink of going back to my old habits again. This is a good reminder that I should be more mindful of what I eat and not be disheartened since I’ve only been doing this for less than a month.

I’ve been strength training for a yr( after I reached my goal weight of 127) 3 days a week at first then beginning in January I increased to 5 days/wk and increased my weights. I was consuming about 1250 cals and when I increased my strength training I began to gain weight. I thought maybe I wasn’t eating enough calories so I increased to 1500 and I continued to have a gain this week. I’m so frustrated. I eat very healthy.

I have been working out with a personal trainer and eating clean for 7 1/2 weeks. After 5 weeks I gained 7 lbs. my trainer then insisted I was not eating enough and has me now doing less cardio and more heavier weights. I haven’t weighed again but clothes are tight and I feel like all I do is eat to keep with the calories. My trainer said my body is in shock and it looked like water weight. Not losing inches either. I am 5 ‘3 1/2 and currently 154lbs. I have never been a big eater and always weighed around 120-122. I did stop exercising for a while (and quit smoking) prior to this 7 1/2 week journey. I am so depressed and afraid of getting bigger! Help!

Hi Lisa, the initial weight gain could be explained by the concept laid out in the above article. However, I personally wouldn’t have increased calories in the face of increasing weight.

Eating too few calories can keep you from losing weight but rarely does it result in weight gain over a prolonged period of time. Personally, I’d eat where I was when I started. The weight gain from the exercise should be done now, so if you’re still gaining weight then calories should be reduced.